There has recently been a demand for developing a piezoelectric material which does not contain lead in consideration of the environment. Under this condition, a piezoelectric ceramic composition containing a bismuth layer compound as a main component has attracted attention, and a SrBiNbO piezoelectric ceramic composition (referred to as a “SBN-type piezoelectric ceramic composition” hereinafter) containing Sr, Bi and Nb as main components has been vigorously researched and developed.
As the SBN-type piezoelectric ceramic composition, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic composition represented by the general formula, Bi2(Sr1-xMx)Nb2O9 (wherein M is a divalent metal element and 0≦x≦0.3), and containing 1.0 part by weight or less (excluding 0) of Mn in terms of MnCO3 has been proposed (Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-322426